Alistair stepped forward to embrace his little sister, who hugged him tightly, and he could hear her light sobbing against his chest.
"Hey, it's alright, we made it." Alistair tried. He knew Melissa was poorly suited for this new environment as she was averse to violence. She had been sheltered by him and the rest of the family for most of her life and had enjoyed life with little hardship before the trial; he thanked the stars. The system was generous enough not to force her to kill beasts immediately.
Melissa calmed down as she retreated with a sniffle barely audible over the hustle and bustle of the party. "I'm sorry. I thought you did not make it when you did not show up in the arena, and there are still so many who are missing..." She started but was interrupted by their aunt Isabella.
Isabella was his mother's sister; they had looked similar, although his aunt had black hair and a slightly more bulky frame and had chosen to make herself not that much younger as she looked to be in her mid-forties, which made recognizing her a lot easier.
"It's alright, dear. Let's not get gloomy and be happy we all found each other again," she said warmly, nodding at the rest of the group while trying to distract his sister. Melissa had a much larger friend circle than he ever had and had lost contact with almost all the friends she cared for.
"Sis is not taking it too well, But I can tell at least you have been doing well, Alistair," James said with a weak smile, his girlfriend splitting off, helping his aunt console his sister.
"Yeah, I got lucky meeting some great people. Speaking of this is my girlfriend, Riseth. Riseth, this is my brother, James; best make use of his presence before he hides again," Alistair jokingly said, giving Riseth a gentle push.
They started exchanging pleasantries as Alistair changed focus to help console his sister; his aunt and Jessica had led her to a nearby white couch, and Alistair joined them, but by the time he arrived, his sister seemed to have calmed herself a little.
"I'm fine. I'm sorry; I was just overwhelmed for a second," she told him.
"Hey, there's no shame in that. How has your time in the trial been?" Alistair asked curiously. He knew she had been in the nurturing section, but he had not visited that particular sub-space yet.
"I've got a whole bunch of alien kids to teach. It's been a challenge, but I shouldn't complain. I mean, at least I'm not out there fighting monsters and risking my life like most people," Melissa added, injecting a touch of humor into her words.
"Are the orc kids the toughest ones to handle?" Alistair asked, relieved to see Melissa lightening up as she launched into tales about the various alien children she'd been looking after.
"Not particularly," Melissa replied with a smile. "They can be a bit rowdy, but I'd liken them more to human children in terms of difficulty. And some of the beastkin can be just as mischievous and troublesome," she concluded, chuckling softly before telling them about some of the more alien students she had encountered.
While sitting there, Alistair scanned the crowd. He noticed how Riseth, James, and Zathron had gotten into a discussion of crafting electronic devices. At the same time, he could see Nessyra walking from one group to the other, basically taking over a host's responsibilities. Alistair presumed this was her way of enjoying parties. He had also noticed Simon and his parents raiding one of the nearby buffets. Simon's father, Thomas, looked only a bit older than his own son, and Alistair only recognized him due to his father's facial features closely resembling Simon's. His mother, Aisha, in turn, looked quite a bit older, also in her mid-40s like his aunt, her long black hair tied in a ponytail, similar to how he remembered her when they had last met. The sudden age difference made them look like quite the odd pair, though they seemed unbothered as they laughed and seemed to enjoy themselves.
Alistair excused himself as he went to fetch Riseth to make a quick round but was stopped by his brother.
"Alistair, Riseth mentioned you have some robot sentries. Would you mind leaving me some of them? I would love to check those out," James said eagerly,
"Sure, but I can do you one better. Do you see that small blue Imp over there? That's Aknis. He has a functioning mech suit, and maybe you can trade some knowledge or help Nessyra convince the guy to join us," Alistair said before giving his brother a quick rundown as to how to negotiate with people from Neshan and what to look out for.
He transferred the sentries and cybernetic arms he had gotten from the last field boss to his brother, who looked at the items in great excitement before hurrying off to talk to the Imp.
"Your brother is a bit peculiar; if there weren't the resemblance, I would not have guessed the two of you were related," Riseth exclaimed as she absent-mindedly locked arms with Alistair looking after James, who had awkwardly started a conversation with Aknis.
Zathron nodded in agreement. "Smart guy, though. He had some very clever suggestions about how to improve on my chopper project," Zathron said, scratching his beard.
"Chopper project?" Alistair inquired with interest.
"Yeah, you know, what you guys call chainsaws. He had some great ideas on making them more durable weapons without the chain ripping out of the machinery during more intense combat." Zathron said before elaborating on some technical specifications that went over Alistair's head while Riseth nodded.
"All I got from that is you guys plan to make chain swords, and I'm down for that. If you ever make some of those, I'd love to try one out," Alistair requested.
"Will do. Also, you won your little bet. I'll talk with Nessyra at the after-party, and I'm sure Desily would love to make a big show of our core presentations. Please let her win, but don't make it obvious," Zahtron requested with a smile.
"Great to hear, and nope, I'll let the person with the better core win, although it's nice of you to give her the win just like that," Alistair said with a cheeky smile as he saw Zahtron's worried expression.
"Come on, man. She's going to be pouting all night if she loses," Zahthron argued.
"So you rather have her tease you?" Alistair questioned as he walked away with Riseth, leaving the flustered troll behind.
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"Sometimes I question which one of us is the demon," Riseth quipped as they got out of earshot.
"I'm not that bad, am I?" Alistair questioned, jest evident in his tone as he picked up two drinks from a server, who carried several drinks on a plate for guests to take, handing one to Riseth.
"I have seen worse," Riseth said jokingly as she pulled him toward her sister, who was talking to Simon and his parents.
"I still have trouble wrapping my head around the fact that we're the patriarch and matriarch of the clan throwing this party," Alistair mused aloud before taking a sip of his drink. It left a warm sensation in his throat, accompanied by a pleasant sweetness. Alistair guessed it had a very low alcohol content; he had read that humans were among the few races that could handle strong alcohol without increasing their grade or poison resistance. However, most races perceived alcohol as a poison and refused to drink it at all. Additionally, he noted that the most popular alcohols in the multiverse tended to be sweet rather than bitter.
"Yeah, you and me both," Riseth said enthusiastically.
Alistair spotted Desily and could tell the fairy was already quite intoxicated. She sat on top of the bar counter, talking to Esta, who seemingly watched out for her. Esta sat on a strange, overly fancy barstool. Alistair wondered why Desily wasn't flying around or insisting on him declaring a winner. Fairies probably could not handle that much booze, and the fact that many of the glasses were as big as her torso probably did not help. Alistair used [Identify] on [Esta - lvl 46] to get her attention; as they made eye contact, Alistair gave Esta a thankful nod, and she waved him off dismissively with a smile. He was slightly surprised to see Esta and Desily so close as they had been bickering the last time they had been together.
Eventually, they navigated their way through the small crowd and reached Simon and his parents. Alistair, separated from Riseth, walked towards Simon for their personal greeting.
"Hey man, good to see you. I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves?" Alistair asked with a welcoming smile.
"Yeah, we're having a blast, though I'm still eagerly awaiting those Lom Lom dishes. Trying not to fill up on these hors d'oeuvres is quite the challenge," Simon lamented with a chuckle.
"It's good to see you again, lad. Thank you for reconnecting us with our son," Thomas expressed gratefully, his tone sincere.
"I must admit it will take some time to get used to the age change, and there is no need to thank me. Simon looked after my mother. It's the least I could do to help." Alistair said courteously.
He was on a first-name basis with Simons's dad, though they had often fallen into the habit of calling each other sir and lad. Still, it felt a bit weird, with Thomas looking as old as them. Alistair could tell there was some tension about the sudden age difference, though they made a good effort to brush past it as Thomas showered his wife in affection, holding her close as they exchanged pleasantries.
They had apparently already talked with Nessyra and would join them as members, which was a great relief to Alistair as he wanted at least a somewhat healthy balance of people he knew rather than what boiled down to a lot of friendly alien strangers and newly made friends. Though he held no such concerns for Riseth, with Simon, his father, and Alistair's mother, they had a strong core he could trust. He hoped his brother and his girlfriend would catch up with their help or their own efforts. However, his intuition told him Nessyra had it handled, and he trusted her enough not to invite dangerous elements; thankfully, as the patriarch, he could always veto any member or kick out followers.
Alistair noticed a small commotion near the entrance and noticed Nessyra in a heated argument with a tall woman with fox ears and long black hair wearing a long, elaborate black and red Asian-style dress; her face contorted in anger and spite. Alistair gave an instinctive nod to Simon as if they were back to police days intervening in a public dispute. Riseth tagged along, and Alistair used [Identify] [Frixbis - lvl 41], confirming his suspicion of who he was dealing with. Behind her stood a beastkin that looked to be a mix of panther and wyvern, adorned with horns and dark purple skin with bone plates covering his arms; he also wore an Asian-themed garment with a black and purple coloration [Identify] revealed him to be [Murasaki - lvl ?] he was already in grade 9 like Zathron and Desily.
Alistair positioned himself between Nessyra and the agitated Frixbis, calmly addressing her.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Alistair asked. He could tell his armor was already warping a little, making it hard not to frown as he felt the [Identify] hit him.
"Ah, so you are the human mongrel she teamed up with. How dare you interject yourself like that," He could tell Nessyra was about to kick them out, but Alistair raised a hand to stop her.
"I am Alistair Ryser, and you are Frixbis, an uninvited guest. Please state your business or leave," Alistair said as he used his [Senses] to probe her; one thing became quickly clear: she was a Qi cultivator; the way Qi circulated in her body was a dead giveaway the same applied to her companion Murasaki though his circulation was more stable then hers and Alistair suspected it had little to do with his level.
"I am here to give Nessyra another chance, though it seems she has already made her choice. Too bad you seem to be a summoner; I would not mind making you and your companion into my useful slaves," Frixbis said with venom in her voice.
Alistair unleashed the full brunt of his [Bloodcurdling Presence] to establish that he was no pushover as he could not afford her thinking him weak. He immediately noticed Zathron approaching through his [Conceptual Awareness] as they felt his mental attack lashing out. Frixbis had a slightly higher [Mind] stat than him, apparently. However, the tier of his skill helped greatly as he noticed her cowering just the slightest bit and her fox ears flattening back.
"I must insist that you leave. It's a shame we could not hold a civil discourse," Alistair said, giving Nessyra the signal to kick them out, which she promptly did as the two unwanted guests disappeared from the entrance.
"Why did you let them go just like that," Riseth asked angrily. Alistair was also seething, though he used [Calm Mind] and extended the effect to Riseth.
"Because she is a Qi Cultivator, needlessly provoking them is never a good idea because most of them are fucked in the head due to the nature of Qi cultivation," Alistair explained as he elaborated on the most important cliff notes about Qi cultivators.
"So when they get upset or obsessed, they get more aggressive, arrogant, and lose most of their rationality? Who the hell would want to become a cultivator?" Riseth asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Individuals overconfident in their ability to maintain their ego or just don't know any better and get seduced by the powers and advantages cultivation offers. Even the quote-unquote good-aligned cultivators are at least slightly touched in the head and quite volatile if provoked. So watch out for them and try to play nice or even better, avoid them altogether. At least, that's the recommended course of action when dealing with Qi cultivators; alternatively, you can just kill them, though usually, their fellow cultivators will seek to avenge them, causing a cycle of violence until you have killed them all." Alistair explained with a frown.
"And Body Cultivation is better?" Riseth asked hesitantly.
"Yes, as long as I am careful when molding my brain, worst case, some of my organs mutate into something fiendish until I cleanse and remold them," Alistair said, unable to elaborate further due to the presence of non-clan members. He knew there was a slight risk of the brain turning fiendish, though the heavenly purity essence would prevent the worst, which was one of the major advantages of his particular technique. And once Riseth joined him in body cultivation, they could cleanse each other in the worst-case scenario, minimizing the risk further.
Alistair signaled the group to disperse so they would stop drawing people's attention; their little show of force seemed to have relieved some of the guests, who must have suffered under Frixbis and her domineering personality as some of them gave him approving nods and smiles as he walked past.
Nessyra had disappeared and reappeared with Barton and a bunch of servers carrying large plates, and the smells that wafted from the plates were divine. She wanted to immediately draw the attention away from the drama at the entrance. To Alistair's relief, almost everyone gathered around the tables loaded with food, and the mood quickly improved as people started to dig in. He would need to watch out for that Frixbis character once outside the trial, though he hoped he had been cordial enough for her not to seek revenge or make it a lower priority.